


Despite the Danger

by NephilimAtHeart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-18 02:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15475257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NephilimAtHeart/pseuds/NephilimAtHeart
Summary: When Ladybug finds out who Chat Noir is under the mask, she doesn't know what to do. She wants to tell him, but that would put him in danger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Miraculous Ladybug fanfic to be posted! Hope you think it's good! <3

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”  
Marinette snapped her head up as her name was called. She blinked at Ms. Bustier a few times, unsure of what was going on.  
“Umm… yes?” she asked meekly, scratching the back of her head and smiling.  
Ms. Bustier smiled back. “It’s your turn to present your project!” she said happily. Alya elbowed her lightly, nodding to the paper in her hands. Marinette looked down at it and seemed to snap back to the present. They had a project due on Ladybug and Chat Noir today. Her mind had been wandering… she didn’t know why, but today especially, everything seemed to be getting to her. She was overthinking everything with Hawkmoth, and had been up all night the previous night, working out strategies and trying to piece together who Hawkmoth was. Nothing had come out in the end, and she was so frustrated she had wanted to scream.  
“Oh! Umm… right. I knew that!” Marinette said, standing up and walking awkwardly to the front of the room. She turned to face the class, her eyes immediately finding Adrien in the front row. He winked at her. She blushed and cleared her throat, holding the paper up and starting to read. “Umm… so… we’ve all heard about the ever-present issue of Hawkmoth and his Akumas by now,” she started. She saw Adrien sit up straighter in his seat, his eyes boring curiously into her. She squeaked uncomfortably and continued reading.  
“Not only that, but mostly everyone in here has been akumatized.” She swallowed. “Well, at least we have one-or, rather, two- things that can help with this: Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Alya whooped and clapped her hands. Marinette looked up at her, and Alya gestured for her to go on. She stood up a little straighter. “Paris’s famous heroes were first seen when Ivan was akumatized as Stoneheart. Of course, when this supervillain showed up, somebody’s first reaction was to run towards the danger,” she glanced up at Alya, who shrugged, “claiming that a superhero would be close behind. And boy, was she right.  
“Our two heroes managed to save Paris from Stoneheart, even if Ladybug did have a little bit of an… issue, at first.” She could have sworn she saw Adrien frown at that. “But she worked it out in the end. With Chat’s help, of course. And ever since then, these two have been working to stop Hawkmoth. And they’re getting closer every day! But if there’s one thing that I’ve learned about Ladybug and Chat Noir, it’s that they work better together. Notice that on the rare occasion that there was only one of them, they didn’t get things done nearly as well as usual. These two are probably the best team in Paris, and I think everyone can agree on that.” She looked up; everyone was nodding. Except Chloe, of course. And… Adrien? Wait, was he… blushing? Marinette blinked at him as he looked up. They stared at each other for a minute, then they both looked away, him blushing harder and her hiding her own rosy cheeks with her paper.  
“Well, that concludes my presentation. Any questions?” she asked a little too quickly. Hands went up, but Chloe stood up before anyone could be called on.  
‘ “Uh, yeah. What was the point of that? We already know all of this. And that last part? About them being the greatest team in Paris? Um, helloo? Do you all NOT remember when I totally helped Ladybug out? If it weren’t for me, she never would have caught that aku-whatever thing. Me and her totally make a better pair than she ever will with that… pussycat,” she said.  
Adrien, Marinette, and Alya glared at her.  
“Okay Chloe. Umm… thanks for that… comment? I think…” Ms. Bustier said. She shook her head. “Okay! Any more questions?”  
Chloe sat down and crossed her arms. “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous,” she said. Marinette rolled her eyes and turned back to the class.  
Hands went up again. Marinette stopped glaring at Chloe and looked around the room. Everyone except Chloe and Sabrina had their hands up. Alya had her eyebrows raised, and she coughed lightly and put her hand down, looking subtly between Marinette and Adrien. Marinette glanced at Adrien. His right hand was up, his silver ring flashing, and his eyes were fixed on Marinette’s face. Little did she know that he too had been up all night, doing practically the same thing as her. Hawkmoth needed to be stopped. But how could he be when nobody knew who he was? And these last few akumatizings were… close. Zombizou especially. It had kind of shaken him, and he was exhausted. Now this presentation was just making it worse, and he was itching to set something straight.  
Marinette swallowed. “Adrien?” she said meekly.  
He put his hand down. “Umm… what do you mean that Ladybug had a “bit of an issue” while battling Stoneheart?” he asked. He didn’t want to be rude, but he had to jump to Ladybug’s defense.  
Marinette blinked. “Umm, well, you know, she, umm, the akuma…” she looked up at Alya, who sighed and poked Adrien on the shoulder. He turned to her.  
“Remember? She didn’t capture the Akuma, like she was supposed to. Because of that, the Akuma multiplied, and made an entire army of Stonehearts. I mean, they must have gotten at least have of Paris-”  
“Okay! I think we get it Alya,” Marinette said. Adrien turned back to her.  
“But that wasn’t her fault,” he countered.  
“I love Ladybug, but it kind of was,” Alya said.  
Adrien seemed to be getting a little mad. “Neither her nor Chat Noir was told that they were supposed to capture it. Maybe if the k-” he cut off, seeming to realize what he had just said. He blushed again, looking down. “Nevermind,” he mumbled.  
Marinette blinked at him, astonished. What was he just about to say? How did he know that? The only person she remembered telling that she wasn’t told to capture it was…  
She shook her head. That was crazy. Was she really comparing Adrien to Chat Noir? They were nothing alike. Adrien was so kind, polite. And Chat was a flirt. MAJORLY. She knew that better than anyone. They couldn’t be the same person. Ugh, all this thinking was killing her!  
She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. “I can take one more question,” she said. Alya stood up, a sly look on her face.  
“You’re right. Most of us have been Akumatized,” she said. “Let’s see who all in here has suffered Hawkmoth’s wrath.” she looked around the classroom. “I was made into Lady Wifi. Nino was the Bubbler, Chloe was Anti-Bug,” Chloe hmphed, “Sabrina was Vanisher, Alix was Timebreaker, Ivan was Stoneheart, Juleka was Reflekta, Kim was Dark Cupid, Max was Gamer, Mylene was Horrificator, Nathaniel was Evillustrator, Rose was Princess Fragrance, and Ms. Bustier was Zombizou.” She looked from Marinette to Adrien, who both winced at the name of their closest call. Other than Dark Owl, which was just a sucky experience for everyone. “That leaves only two people: Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” With a faint triumphant smirk, she sat back down.  
Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, then both of them reached up to scratch the backs of their necks nervously. I’m too tired for this, they both thought.  
“Well, you see-” Adrien started.  
“It’s not really-” followed Marinette.  
“You all had reasons-”  
“But maybe we…”  
“I guess we’re just lucky?” they both said at the same time. They looked at each other again, then smiled sheepishly at the class. It didn’t reach their eyes, though.  
They stayed like that awkwardly until Ms. Bustier said, “Well, that concludes today’s presentations. Ms. Bourgeois, you’ll be expected to present your speech first thing tomorrow. Have a nice day, everyone!”  
Marinette and Adrien were the first ones out the door. Adrien turned and ran down the stairs, while Marinette ran towards the school’s back door. They both needed their minds cleared after that performance, and after their stressful nights. And what better way to do that then soaring over the streets of Paris?

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien closed the door of his room and pressed play on his piano recording. “Ready to go, Plagg?” he asked.  
Plagg flew out of his shirt and hovered in front of his, tiny arms crossed. “Wow. That was close. Way to be subtle, Adrien,” he said.  
Adrien sighed. “Yeah, I know. I almost messed up, big time. But don’t worry. The only person who would have realized that I may have just give away information that only Ladybug and I know is the bug herself. And lucky for us, she wasn’t there.”  
Plagg blinked at him. “Whatever helps to ease your mind, kid,” he said.  
Adrien rolled his eyes. “Plagg, claws out!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Marinette, you do realize that only you and Chat Noir know about the fact that you weren’t told about purifying the Akuma, right?” Tikki asked when Marinette got outside of the school and made sure no one was around.  
Marinette shrugged. “One of us could have said something about it without remembering. And, either way, Alya filmed practically that entire day. She might have caught something,” she said, tucking her backpack away in the small corner where she left it when she needed to transform from right outside of school.  
Tikki sighed. “Whatever you say, Marinette. But this isn’t the end of this.”  
Marinette ignored her. “Tikki, spots on!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not too long after that, both the famous heroes were soaring over Paris, leaving their troubles for the wind to deal with. Ladybug latched onto things and swung from her yo-yo with ease, while Chat used his stick to vault his way through the city. They were both heading to the one place that could always help clear their heads: the very top of the Eiffel Tower.  
Ladybug arrived first, swinging up and landing smoothly. She stuck her yo-yo on her side and sat, looking over her city. Everything seemed so peaceful down there. Cars were going by on the streets, while some people walked along the sidewalks. She could barely see Andre and his ice-cream cart, at the base of the tower. And there was the Louvre museum, it’s glass face shimmering in the midday light. Watching the Parisians live their lives helped take her mind off her own troubles.  
She didn’t turn as she heard the slight click of Chat Noir’s stick retracting as he arrived. He sat down next to her, a small smile on his face. He had told his Dad that he was staying at Nino’s for the night. Surprisingly, he had given him the okay. That way, it didn’t matter how late it became. He could stay up here all night, if he wanted. “Fancy meeting you here, Milady,” he said. “What brings you to the tower today?”  
She sighed and pulled one knee up to her chest, letting the other dangle over the side of the tower. She rested her chin on her knee. “Had to clear my head,” she said. “This seemed like the best place to do it.”  
He nodded, clipping his stick to his back and folding his hands behind his head, leaning against the top part of the tower. “Tell me about it. Things haven’t really been going my way today,” he said. “And what better way to take my mind off of it by coming up here? It’s calming. Watching them live their lives, being able to see everyone being… human. Makes everything seem a bit… better.”  
She turned her head to look at him. The space wasn't too big; they had to sit pretty close together to fit. He was gazing out over the City of Lights, his cat ears twitching softly, his bell ringing quietly in the wind. He looked deep in thought. She had rarely ever seen him like this. He was always so light-hearted, so… free. But he looked a little trapped by his own mind now.  
She sighed. “Everything lately has just been… a lot. We’ve had a few really close calls in the past couple weeks. And figuring out about our other forms… my mind’s been working me for days.”  
“Yeah. But I guess that’s what we get for being superheroes. Comes with a few prices. Having to risk ourselves every day, constantly being targeted, having to keep secrets from everyone.” He rubbed at his eyes with a hand. “It sucks.”  
Marinette didn’t look at him. She understood what he meant perfectly. Never getting to tell anyone who she was… secrets had always cut her to the core. One this big was… horrible.  
She blinked. Deciding she wanted the comfort of one of her best friends, she scooted back a little and leaned her head on Chat’s shoulder. He shifted slightly and looked down at her, but she just kept staring out over Paris. “Sometimes, I really wish we could tell each other who we really are,” she whispered, closing her eyes. He could see how tired she was.  
He hesitated a moment. He, too, wasn’t used to seeing Ladybug like this. Sure, she was a little doubtful at times, like during their first battle. But he’d always been there to cheer her up. And even when he hadn’t been, someone else had. She was always able to come up with a new plan, another brilliant idea. She never gave up on anyone. It was one of the things he loved about her.  
He was about to respond when he realized how even her breathing had become. He looked down at her and realized that she was asleep. Wow, he thought. She really was tired. People rarely saw how much she had to go through. Not everyone saw it, but he did. It took a lot out of her to be the bigger person in every situation. That’s why he always tried to cooperate with her easily. Anything he could do to make her job easier was a plus. But even with his help, she was still worn out from everything. She still always came back though. She knew that she had a job to do.  
Sometimes it bothered him that Master Fu had chosen her. Yes, she was the absolute perfect person for the job. But she needed a break every once in a while, too. It was obvious that she was young. Probably right around his age. No one, especially not someone with a heart as incredibly pure as hers, should have to go through all of that. He didn’t know who she was beneath that mask, but he knew that he loved her with every piece of his heart, and anything he could do to give her a break was the highlight of his day. And one day, when he did find out who she was, he would love her even more. He would also make sure she took better care of herself. That way, maybe she wouldn’t have so much on her small, incredibly strong shoulders. No one should have to hold the weight of so many lives. He hated it.  
Sighing, he wrapped his arm gently around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead lightly. Then he laid his head gently on top of hers. “Me too, Bugaboo. Me too.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sabine Cheng looked around out the window of the bakery, worry creasing her face.  
“Tom, are you sure she went over to Alya’s?” she asked her husband. He sighed and came up to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
“I’m sure she went somewhere. I promise you, she’s safe, Sabine. We would have known by now if anything had happened to her,” he said.  
Sabine turned and blinked up at him. “But it’s the middle of the night. Who knows where she could have gone? Who knows what could have happened to her? Tom, I’m just worried. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”  
Tom hugged her to him. “Marinette will be fine, Sabine. I know it.”  
She nodded, but doubt still sat like a boulder in her mind.

Hawkmoth smiled. “Look at this. A mother worried about her daughter. Perfect prey for my little Akumas.”  
A small white butterfly flew into his open hands, and he made a sort of cage around it while it was filled with dark power. When he released it, it flew off into the night through the small window.  
“Yes, fly, my little Akuma, and evilize her!”

Sabine sat on the little balcony on top of the bakery, a picture of Marinette in her hands. She was only seven in the picture, and had fallen in a mud puddle while it was raining. She had a scared look on her face as she sat there in her fancy dress.  
Sabine remembered that day. Marinette’s school had done a Christmas performance. When they got outside, it had been raining. Marinette was skipping along, when suddenly, she slipped and fell in a puddle. She had been so scared that she would get in trouble for ruining her dress that she started crying. Sabine had hugged her to her, telling her it was okay and trying not to laugh.  
A single tear slid down Sabine’s cheek and onto the picture. She didn’t know what she would do if something had happened to her. That little girl was her whole world.  
She wanted to believe Tom when he said that she was okay, but she didn’t. These last couple days, Marinette hadn’t really been… herself. She seemed incredibly tired, and she had snapped at her father one time before apologizing and going to bed. Who knows what could have happened to her?  
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see the little black butterfly as it flew up and into the picture she was holding. It turned a dark purple color, and she lifted her head. The light purple outline of a butterfly framed her face.  
“Mother Bear,” said the voice of Hawkmoth in her head. “I’m giving you the power you’ll need to ensure that your daughter is safe, as well as to make sure that everyone’s child is home and okay. No parent should have to worry like you are. You can now make sure that they don’t have to.”  
Sabine smiled. “But in return for these powers, you must bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”  
“Will do, Hawkmoth.” Sabine smiled as she started to transform. “No child will leave their parents’ side!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ladybug didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally blinked open her eyes.  
She looked around in confusion for a second, not knowing where she was. As she tried to lift her head, though, she finally seemed to notice the warmth surrounding her. She froze as she realized it was Chat, who seemed to have fallen asleep, too.  
Everything came back to her in a rush. The previous night, the presentation at school, Adrien’s odd words, Alya’s proclamation. She had come up here, to the top of the Eiffel tower, to get her mind off of everything. Chat had shown up. They had talked. Then she fell asleep.  
She slowly pulled her head up, laying Chat’s head down on her shoulder before looking at the city before her. It was nighttime, that much was obvious. She couldn’t see Andre anymore, and the Louvre’s lights had gone out. Few people still walked along the streets, and lights on houses were off throughout most of the city. She pulled out her yo-yo and checked the time. 3:36 A.M.  
She looked down at Chat. He looks so peaceful, she thought. And he did. His cat ears twitched every once in a while, and his breathing was slow and even. He looked… younger, like that. He didn’t look as much like a superhero than like… like a kid.  
Adrien’s words in class came back to her. She had pushed aside all thoughts that he could be Chat Noir. They didn’t have much in common. Chat was lively and free-spirited, while Adrien was constantly trapped by his father’s will. In some cases, they couldn’t seem more different.  
As she stared at him, memories of both boys played in her mind. Adrien laughing at something Nino said. Chat Noir smiling his playful little smile at her, flirting, as usual. Adrien told that he isn’t allowed to go out with his friends. Chat soaring through the air, always by her side in every fight. Adrien that day with Riposte, and the way she had told herself that he wasn’t looking at her, even though it seemed like he was. Constantly.  
Chat, that night on her balcony, admitting that he was in love with Ladybug to Marinette, not knowing who he was really talking to.  
She had always waved off Chat’s playful flirting attempts, assuming that he was just having a little fun. But there were those few times that he seemed genuine. With Timebreaker, when he jumped in the way of her getting frozen. With Dark Cupid, on that Valentine’s day, the way he had held her so delicately as he said he needed to tell her something. Then him jumping in the way of her once again as Kim shot at her. With Animan, the way he had hugged her desperately as he realized that she hadn’t just been eaten by a T-Rex. And that night, when he seemed so genuinely upset by the fact that Ladybug hadn’t shown up.  
She hadn’t been smart enough to put the pieces together until then. And then he had admitted it.  
But he couldn’t really be Adrien. Could he? Adrien had never showed any sign of liking Ladybug, and Chat obviously did. Well, except for the time with Lila, the look on his face as he talked about Ladybug. And that day with Riposte, the way he had kept looking at her. It was the way she imagined she must have looked at him. And the time when he had literally jumped off of a building, saying that he trusted her enough to catch him before he hit the ground.  
Her mind came to a halt. No… that couldn’t be true. They couldn’t be the same person. It wasn’t possible.  
Or was it? They both wore their rings on the same finger, and they were similar shapes. She had always brushed that off as coincidence. But then there was the fact that they had the same hair, the same color eyes. That, too, she had ignored.  
But now there was more. The way Chat was acting that day, as if he were exhausted, just like Adrien was. The way Adrien had let slip that tiny piece of information that only her and Chat Noir knew. The way that both boys looked at her, as if she were the best thing that had ever happened to them.  
Oh, my God, she thought.  
Adrien is Chat Noir.  
Her mind reeled as she stared down at Chat, asleep on her shoulder. She had always pushed him away, had always told herself that were heart was reserved for Adrien only. She had figured she didn’t have room for the both of them.  
But I do, she realized. Because they were the same person. Adrien was Chat Noir all along, and underneath the mask, Adrien was asleep next to her, suspended over the famed City of Love. And somehow, she loved Adrien that much more because of it. Of course he was Chat. There’s no way two people could have the same courage in their heart, the same determination and dedication it took to save Paris from everything thrown their way. It was clear to her now, how utterly alike the two were. Sure, Chat seemed so much lighter, so much more carefree than Adrien. But that was because being Chat gave him a chance to have the freedom he had always wanted. Being a superhero gave him the opportunity to get away from all of the pain in his life, to get away from the house he was trapped in by his own father. It gave him a chance to be who he had always wanted to be.  
How had she been so blind?  
She realized then that most of the things she loved about Adrien were the same reasons why she loved working with Chat so much. Their dedication, their tendency to never give up, especially on her. The way they never backed down from what they believed in. The way they never backed down from her.  
She inhaled sharply as a thought hit her. If Adrien was Chat Noir, and Chat had admitted to being in love with her…  
Did that mean that the boy she had loved for so long had loved her back the entire time?  
Did that mean that she had spent so much time telling the boy she loved that she didn’t love him like that, when really she had? That she had saved Paris with him so many times, had laughed with him and joked with him and been held by him as he caught her when she fell, without even realizing who he was? She had never let her mind go that far, but now that she did, a whole world of possibilities was opening up.  
She very gently pushed his hair out of his closed eyes. Her heart swelled with love and joy; she knew now everything that could start going right with them. She could wake him up right now, tell him that she loved him, tell him that she knew and that she was sorry she had turned him down.  
She stopped herself, her smile fading.  
She couldn’t do any of that.  
She had always told him, had told everyone, that no one could know who they were. It would be dangerous. And she wasn’t willing to put anyone through that. She couldn’t tell him that she knew who he was. It would give too much away. It would put them in danger, and while she was willing to risk herself, she was never going to be ready to risk him like that. Ever. She didn’t know if she would be able to stand it if anything happened to him, now more than ever.  
She sighed and gazed down at him, tears building at the backs of her eyes. She couldn’t tell him. She couldn’t even act like anything had changed, even though everything had. She was going to have to pretend it was all the same. They were superheroes, after all. This was just one of the many prices that came with it.  
She sniffled as tears started to fall slowly down her face, and reached up to wipe them away. Chat Noir blinked open his eyes as she moved, looking up at her sleepily. She froze.  
“Ladybug?” he asked. “What’s-” he broke off, his eyes widening as he seemed to notice the tears on her face. He lifted his head and tilted it, looking confused. “What’s wrong?”  
Looking at the concern on his face, after everything her mind had just went through and everything that was driving her crazy… she couldn’t hold it together. She put her hands over her face as she broke, tears pouring out of her eyes.  
After a moment, she felt Chat’s arms go around her, felt him pull her to him and press his hand against her back. He stroked her hair comfortingly, which just made it all worse. “Hey… you’re okay,” he said.  
She shook her head. Her face was pressed into his shoulder, so her words were muffled when they came out. “No, it’s… I’m not… I just can’t-” she broke off, sobbing harder, and he tightened his arms around her.  
“Shh… it’s okay, Ladybug. I’m here. You’re okay,” he said soothingly. “You’re okay.”  
They stayed like that for a while, her crying while he held her tightly and whispered comforting words to her. It just made it all worse, though. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted him, how much she loved him, how much she needed him. She couldn’t do this. How could she possibly keep this to herself? How could she possibly stay quiet when she knew who the love of her life was? Everything in her wanted to hug him back, wanted to scream, “I know who you are! I know, and I love you!” But she couldn’t.  
Gradually, the tears stopped coming, and she sat pulling in shuddering breaths. Chat pulled back and looked into her tear-stained face with concern and confusion. Gently, he reached up and brushed the tears from her face with his thumb. “You good, Bugaboo?” he asked gently.  
She almost burst into tears again. She felt a few slip down her face as Chat stroked her cheek with his thumb. His hand still cupped her face gently. She looked down.  
“I… I’m sorry,” she whispered.  
There was a moment of silence. Then, carefully, he placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so she’d look at him. His face was sincere, and kind of intense. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” he said. “You’re a superhero. And I don’t know who you are under that mask, but I know that somewhere in there, you’re just another human. An absolutely extraordinary one who was chosen for a major task, but still. You might have to carry the weight of Paris on your shoulders, but you never have to do it alone. And even if you have to put on a brave face for everyone else, you don’t have to with me. Because I know what it’s like. I understand, even though everyone else might not. So don’t be sorry. Everyone has their breaking point. Even seemingly invincible superheroes.”  
She gazed up at him with slight wonder. He looked so completely sincere right then that she almost said “Screw the consequences.” But she didn’t. Instead she nodded, and he pulled her to him again. She laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him back. Maybe she would be okay. Maybe not telling him was fine. He would still be there for her, and either way, she could still try with Adrien as Marinette.  
She pulled back and looked at him. “Thanks, chaton,” she said. He gave her a small half smile.  
“Anytime, Milady.”  
It was then that they heard the crash.  
They both turned and looked in the direction it came from. Chat gasped, and Ladybug sighed inwardly. This was just what she needed.  
A huge bear was walking through the streets of Paris. It was big and brown and wore a little pink bow and an apron. Great, Marinette thought. Is this ever going to be over?  
She climbed to her feet and pulled out her yo-yo. “Well, looks like Paris needs us again,” she said.  
Chat grabbed her wrist lightly before she could jump off of the tower. “Wait!” She looked at him. “Ladybug, if you need to, you can sit this one out for now,” he said. Her eyes widened. “I mean… you never get a break, and you deserve one. I could deal with… whatever that is, and I’ll call you when the Akuma needs captured.”  
Ladybug stared at him. Part of her wanted to say yes, to finally get a break from everything that she could never get away from. Part of her wanted to simply sit back down with him and watch as this thing did whatever it needed to.  
But she knew she couldn’t do either. So instead, she smiled gently at Chat. “I’ll be okay,” she said. As she turned back out to Paris, she added, “And, either way, it’s like I always say: we’re the best team in Paris. When we aren’t together, we don’t work as well. Let’s go!”  
With that, she jumped, knowing that he would follow and hoping he didn’t question her further.

Chat Noir looked after Ladybug, confusion pulling at him. What was wrong with her? Had he done something wrong?  
Shrugging, he jumped off of the tower after her, feeling himself fall through the night air. She was strong. Whatever she was going through, she’d come out of it. And he’d be there to help her every step of the way. That was the first time he had ever seen her cry, and yes, it had kind of scared him. But now he had gotten over it, and she would be fine. He would make sure of it.  
He followed Ladybug’s careful trail through the city until they reached Hawkmoth’s newest victim. He had been right. It was literally a giant bear. He stared at it from next to Ladybug on a rooftop a little ways off, already trying to come up with ideas.  
“I wonder what it’s-” he was cut off as a growl sounded from the bear.  
“Children must stay with their parents!” it said. Then another crash sounded as it pulled a piece of asphalt out of the road and shoved it against the door of a house, closing in the family there. Chat saw Alix, the girl from school, in the window with a woman he assumed was her mother.  
“Where are you, Marinette? Come to Mommy. It’s not nice to worry your mother,” the bear said in a sing-song voice. He heard Ladybug inhale sharply.  
He turned as she reached out and grabbed his arm, as if to steady herself. Her face was pale; there was fear in her eyes. Her breath had stopped, now she swallowed and inhaled deeply. “It’s Sabine Cheng,” she whispered.  
Chat reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Uh, you okay, Milady?” he asked.  
She turned to him, seeming to snap out of whatever trance she was in. Color washed back into her face as her cheeks reddened. “Come on. Let’s go see what we can do about this,” she said. With that, she zipped off of the roof, leaving Chat to stare after her with mild confusion. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he jumped off of the roof after her.

 

Ladybug swung over rooftops until she was right next to Sabine. She didn’t need Chat questioning her further. She definitely didn’t need him to see the tears forming in her eyes. Everything that night had been way too much for her already. Everything at school, Chat seeing her cry, discovering who Chat was… and everything that came with knowing.  
Now this? Anybody being akumatized that night would have been enough to throw her over the edge. But specifically her mother? That had pushed her to her breaking point. She felt as if she were completely shattered, inside and out, and the only thing keeping her together at all was the knowledge that she had been chosen, and that she needed to do this. She needed to stop this Akuma before it destroyed Paris.  
She watched in horror as her mother pulled out another chunk of road and slapped it onto someone else’s door. Inside, Ladybug could see Nadja Chamack, white-faced and shocked, holding a terrified looking Manon. They both seemed to catch sight of Ladybug and started waving their arms and shouting.  
Ladybug gestured for them to keep quiet, but it was too late. Sabine turned towards her slowly, blinking down at her with heartbreakingly familiar bluebell eyes. She watched in horror as the thin outline of a butterfly framed Sabine’s face. Her mother’s eyes narrowed, and the huge bear nodded her head before the outline disappeared.  
“Come here, little buggy. Give your Miraculous to Mother Bear,” she bellowed, reaching out with a paw that was bigger than her.  
Ladybug didn’t have time to get out of the way before Chat extended his stick and knocked her paw aside. Her huge head swiveled towards him as her eyes locked on Chat instead of Ladybug. “Hey. What’s wrong, mommy bear? You lost your cub?” he asked, his familiar playful smirk playing along his lips.  
That gave Ladybug an idea. Taking a deep breath, she turned and ran to the edge of the roof. “Keep her busy! I have an idea!” she yelled over her shoulder at Chat, knowing that he would listen and not question her. With that, she jumped off the roof with a sort of finality. She pulled out her yo-yo and swung up onto the neighboring roof, landing with barely a sound.  
With that, she started running. She flew over rooftops, searching for the place she needed to find. When she finally spotted the small place on the side of a small street, she took a deep breath and jumped off the roof. Making sure no one was around, she closed her eyes and said, “Spots off.” Tikki hovered in front of her, looking exhausted, then seemed to realize where they were. Her small eyes widened, but she didn’t ask questions as Marinette pushed open the door and walked inside with Tikki close behind.  
Master Fu was sitting on the mat in the middle of the floor, his intelligent eyes fixed on her. “Marinette. What brings you here at this time of night, young Ladybug?” he asked.  
Marinette looked back at him. “First of all, do you have anything for Tikki? She needs fuel,” she said. Master Fu nodded, stood up, and walked over to a table at the side of the room, lifting a cover off of a small plate. A pile of chocolate chip cookies sat there, their sweet smell filling the air. Tikki looked from Master Fu to the cookies hopefully, and Master Fu nodded. Tikki smiled and zipped over to the sweets, disappearing under a pile of chocolate.  
“And the other thing?” Master Fu asked, turning his attention back to Marinette. She swallowed.  
“I need the fox Miraculous.We’re going to need Rena’s illusion power to defeat this Akuma,” she said. Master Fu narrowed his eyes.  
“And you’re sure you need it?” he asked, just as he had the other times she had asked for Rena’s help.  
Marinette nodded. “I need her and Chat to distract Mother Bear using Rena’s illusion power while I get whatever the akuma is in. She’s holding something in her hand, and I’m pretty sure it’s there.”  
Master Fu studied her for a moment longer, then turned and walked towards the back of the room, where the record player sat, carefully hiding the other Miraculous. But, (Much to Marinette’s frustration) instead of going and unlocking the box, as she’d seen him do plenty of times, he sat down on the rug in the room and stared at her.  
Marinette breathed in deeply, eager not to blow up on Master Fu. “Master Fu, I really don’t mean to be rude. But if I don’t get back there soon, Mother Bear is going to wreak more havoc than she already is. I need the Miraculous so that I can stop her,” she said, trying to keep the slight tremor out of her voice.  
Master Fu blinked at her. “Marinette, I do not think giving you the Miraculous is the right thing to do. There is something going on with you. That much is obvious. Clear thinking is not usually associated with frustration. You are not at your best right now, and you need to be. I apologize,” he said calmly, his gaze never wavering.  
She couldn’t help it as her mouth fell open in shock. “What?!?! Can you even do that? We need her. Chat Noir and I can’t do this alone,” she said, this time not even bothering trying to be polite anymore.  
Master Fu still didn’t react. “I am sorry Marinette, but I cannot help you. All I can give you is this: Ladybug and Chat Noir are not alone. Sometimes they just need to look inside of themselves and work with what or who they find.”  
Marinette could tell by the calm in his eyes, the surety in his posture, and the words he had just said that he was not going to cave. She beckoned to Tikki, frustrated tears building in her eyes. Tikki shared a knowing glance with Wayzz before floating up to Marinette. With that, Marinette turned and walked out of the building, practically slamming the door behind her.  
Tikki floated in front of her face with a look of concern. “Marinette? Maybe Master is-” she began.  
“Spots on,” Marinette said, a little too forcefully. Tikki, cut off in the middle of her sentence, sighed softly as her strength was dissolved into Ladybug’s magic. She didn’t think she could handle being told the same thing again, especially not from the person who was literally a full quarter of who she was. Ladybug was half of Marinette, and Tikki was half of Ladybug. She couldn’t be who she was without Tikki. Literally.  
Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and swung up onto a rooftop. She could still see Mother Bear, and if she squinted she could barely make out Chat Noir, jumping around to avoid her paws. He was still keeping her busy, which gave her time to come up with a new plan.  
She was originally going to have Rena Rouge use her illusion power to make it seem like Marinette was there. That was the only way she could think of to get her attention off of them long enough to let her and Chat get the object the akuma was in.  
Rolling her shoulders a little, she threw up her yo-yo. “Lucky Charm!” she yelled. She held out her hands, and a picture fell into her hands. She stared at it in confusion.  
Realization dawned on her as she studied the image. She remembered it. It was a picture of her at her birthday party, laughing at something one of her friends had done. That was the same day that her grandma was akumatized as Befana.  
That’s when it hit her. Her grandma had been searching for her when she was akumatized, just like her mom was now. To get Befana where they could take the akumatized object, they had told her where they hid Marinette.  
She could do the same thing now.  
With a new sense of hope, she started swinging over the rooftops of Paris to get to Chat. The more she thought about her plan, the more she could see it working. This wouldn’t be too hard.  
When she reached Chat, he turned and flashed one of his flirtatious, playful smiles. “Nice of you to drop in, Milady,” he said. Seeing him act perfectly normal made her heart hurt, but she quickly pushed it down and focused on the plan.  
She cast a quick glance up at Mother Bear, who was now bringing back her paw for another swing at Chat. She quickly jumped over and tackled him to the ground as the huge paw swung mere inches above their heads.  
She looked down at Chat, who was staring up at her, wide-eyed. She gazed back into his eyes for a moment, then blinked a few times and bounced to her feet, ready to enact her plan.  
“I hid her up at the top of the tower. She should be safe there,” Ladybug said a little too loudly as Chat pushed himself to his feet.  
He tilted his head. “Umm… who?” he asked.  
She stole a quick glance at Mother Bear. who had her head tilted, listening. She smiled to herself. “Marinette!” she said. Mother Bear’s ears perked. “Remember? We said that we needed a place to hide her! Well, I chose to put her on the tower!”  
Chat’s eyes widened as he looked at Mother Bear, who roared in triumph and turned towards the tower. She started stomping slowly towards it, and Chat pulled out his stick to follow before Ladybug put a hand on his arm, stopping him. He turned to her.  
“Leave her. Marinette isn’t really up there,” she said. Chat looked like he was about to ask a question, but she cut him off. “She’s safe. This is just a distraction.”  
He blinked at her, looking startled for a second. Then a slow grin spread over his face. “What would be your master plan this time, Bugaboo?” he asked.  
Ladybug swallowed past the lump forming her throat. He was acting completely normal. The smiling, the flirting, the nicknames, the playful carelessness he always had about him. He seemed to have completely forgotten what happened on the tower a mere half hour before.  
She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  
Shaking her head to stop her intrusive thoughts, she forced a smile that she wasn’t sure she discluded her pain from. “Remember with Befana, when she went for Marinette at the tower, and that’s how we got her akuma?” she asked. Chat nodded. “Well… in case you didn’t notice, she wouldn’t open her hand. I’m pretty sure the akumatized object is in there..”  
Chat pondered this for a moment, then smiled. “Nice observation skills,” he said. Ladybug looked out at the tower, which Mother Bear had almost reached. Chat kept talking, but she didn’t hear what he was saying. Her mind had traveled back to earlier that night.  
What would have happened if she would have done things differently? If she had told Chat what she knew? If she had confessed her love for his other form, along with the love she felt now for his current one? Would he have accepted her? Turned her down? Demanded to know how she knew? Denied it? She had so many questions, every one of which was slowly tearing her heart to pieces.  
She snapped back to the present as a hand touched her shoulder. She blinked at Chat a few times, taking a second to comprehend the worry on his face, the chill of the night air, the spot of warmth on her shoulder where his hand rested. He had his head tilted, concern in the green eyes she had known so well for so long.  
“Ladybug? Are you okay?” he asked gently. “You’re crying again.”  
Ladybug reached her hand up to her face, fingers resting lightly on the single tear that had rolled down her cheek without her noticing. She wiped it away and looked down, not able to bear looking at the confusion and helpless worry on his face anymore.  
“Oh. Yeah. I’m… I’m fine,” she said quietly. It didn’t sound very convincing. “Come on. We need to get to the tower before Mother Bear.”  
Before he could protest, she pulled out her yo-yo and sent it flying. As it wrapped around the chimney of a building a little ways off, she pulled and went soaring into the night. She didn’t bother looking to see if Chat Noir would follow. He always did.  
She got to the tower at the same time as Mother Bear, with Chat Noir still a little ways behind. That gave her time.  
She quickly made her way up the tower, being careful to avoid Mother Bear. Reaching the top, she called down, “Mother Bear? I’m up here! Come on!” She made sure to sound like Marinette.  
She ran to the edge of the tower and looked down as Mother Bear let out a roar. She opened her paws and placed both on the tower in attempt to begin her climb. Ladybug watched as a small, dark purple object fell from her hand and onto the floor. She smiled in triumph.  
“Chat Noir! By her feet!” she yelled as a small-looking black shape latched on to the bottom of the tower. He turned his head to the floor by Mother Bear’s feet. Seeing the object, he picked it up.  
“Catch!” he yelled, and something came flying up towards Ladybug. She reached out and caught what appeared to be a picture frame, immediately dropping it to the ground and hearing it break.  
A small black butterfly flew out of the object and towards her. She slid her finger down the yo-yo, revealing a shimmering pink inside. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma,” she said. She swung the yo-yo at the akuma and yelled, “It’s time to de-evilize!”  
The yo-yo closed again as the akuma was sucked in, and she pulled it back to her. “Gotcha!” She tapped the center of it, opening it again and releasing a pale white butterfly. “Bye-bye little butterfly,” she said as it flew off into the night.  
“Miraculous Ladybug!” she yelled, and threw her lucky charm into the air. She watched as everything in Paris was returned to normal, then climbed down the tower to where her mother was crouched on the ground. Chat watched carefully.  
Marinette was about to check on Sabine when something caught her attention. This was her mother. Yes, not even her best friend recognized everything she had in common with Marinette. But a mother could always tell. Especially one as amazing and loving as Sabine was. She’d know it was her the second she opened her mouth.  
So instead Ladybug turned and walked up to Chat Noir. A small beep caught her attention, and she reached up to touch her earring lightly. She only had two minutes left.  
“You got this Chat Noir?” she asked quietly. “I have to go.”  
He nodded. “No problem, Milady.” She turned and was about to walk away when he reached out and grabbed her arm lightly, turning her back around. She stared up at him, swallowing hard. “Hey. Just one more thing…” he said, quietly enough that Sabine wouldn’t hear.  
She blinked and swallowed again. “Yeah?” she asked, mentally kicking herself for the way her voice shook.  
He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m always here for you. Anything you need, whether it’s someone to talk to or just a friend to sit with you in silence… I’m here. Okay?” he asked.  
Ladybug felt a tear roll down her cheek. She didn’t bother to wipe it away. Instead she reached out and hugged him, oblivious as to how she had possibly found anyone so perfect to have as a best friend. He hugged her back tightly. When he pulled back, the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. “Now go on. You wouldn’t want us around when you change back,” he said.  
She nodded and turned her back to him, looking back one more time to see Chat knelt down by Sabine, talking to her quietly, making sure she was okay. The swell of love she felt for him then was more than she had ever felt for Adrien alone.

 

Marinette was pacing back and forth in front of the bakery when Chat Noir showed up with Sabine Cheng. At the sight of each other, the two girls immediately started running towards each other. They met in a hug, both of them gripping each other tightly.  
“Mom! I am so sorry! I was at Alya’s watching a movie, and we fell asleep, and when I woke up and came here all I found was Dad looking scared and blabbing about a bear! I am so, so sorry for worrying you!” she said.  
Her mom stroked her back, and Marinette could hear the tears in her voice as she spoke. “It’s okay baby. It’s okay. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”  
Marinette smiled through the tears on her face and looked up at Chat Noir, who was watching them with a small smile on his face. She smiled at him.  
Thank you, she mouthed. Chat Noir nodded once and mouthed back, Anytime. Then he was off, soaring out into the night. Marinette watched him go for a minute, then closed her eyes and buried her face in her mother’s hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! It's a little shorter than chapter one, but I hope you still like it.

Both Adrien and Marinette were running on almost no sleep the next day at school. They had the time that they had spent sleeping against each other on top of the Eiffel Tower, but there wasn’t much beyond that. Marinette spent the few hours between the Akuma attack and the start of school either crying into her pillow or venting to Tikki quietly. So much was on her mind after what had happened with Chat Noir, and too many doubts plagued her mind. What now? How would she act around Adrien? How could she face Chat without him asking what was wrong? Would he be mad at her if he did find out? Would they ever be the same again? How was she going to handle keeping this from him?  
Adrien didn’t sleep when he got home either. Instead he paced his room, talking to Plagg at times even though he was pretty sure the kwami was ignoring him. Obviously Ladybug wasn’t okay that night. Or the day before. She was exhausted. He had assumed her falling asleep next to him was because of stress and lack of sleep. But it could have been more than that. Obviously her breaking down and crying after that was because of something more. But he didn’t know what. And she wouldn’t tell him. So where did that leave the situation?  
Since the questions and constant worry were starting to frustrate him, Adrien decided to head to school early. The morning bell rang at 9:00. It was about 7:30 now. That meant he had time to walk and still be a little early if he left then.  
He didn’t bother to tell his bodyguard where he was going, but he told Nathalie that he was going to take a ride with one of his friends to school that day. She simply waved him off, so he sighed and wrote a simple note that he stuck to his bedroom door instead. His bodyguard would see it and at least know where he was, since Nathalie probably didn’t listen to what he said.  
Making sure he had everything he needed, Adrien waved to Nathalie and walked outside, closing the front door behind him. The cool morning air felt good on his face, and he breathed in deeply before heading in the direction of the school.   
People waved as he walked by. Some of them took pictures. One or two approached him and asked for an autograph. It was nothing new to him. That was usually what happened whenever he walked anywhere without his bodyguard. Sometimes it felt a little bit intrusive. Other times, like right then, he was happy to oblige to the requests. He signed papers and waved back at people walking by, a smile on his face.  
His mind was elsewhere though. As he walked through the calm streets of Paris, he couldn’t help but think about the girl who kept them that way. She was beautiful. And brave. And stronger than everyone that he knew, including Chat Noir and Hawk Moth. But everybody had there breaking points. She obviously hadn’t reached hers yet, since she was still able to fight an Akuma after she broke down. But he could see what was happening with her.   
He knew that she had her walls built up pretty high. She had to, since she was a superhero and had a secret identity to keep from everyone. And she hid everything. As Ladybug, every emotion stayed buried inside. Sure, he caught a glimpse of her feelings every once in a while. But her just… losing it like that? It wasn’t like her. Her carefully woven defenses were coming down, and her walls were breaking. She had held it all in for so long, and such a burden on such a young girl was becoming too much.   
A wave of protective determination swept through him, causing him to turn around and run away from the school and to a dark, secluded alley in between two buildings. Turning the corner, he hid his bag under a dumpster and said, “Plagg, claws out!” The kwami didn’t have time to respond as he was sucked into Adrien’s ring. There was a flash of light, and Chat Noir stood in his place.   
Pulling out his baton, he dialed Ladybug’s number and waited for her to respond. When she didn’t, he sighed and left her a message, then hung up. He checked the time. Almost 8:00. He still had time to walk the rest of the way to school. Sighing and dropping his transformation, he grabbed his bag before walking out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk.  
When he got to the school, the time on his phone read 8:43. That gave him about ten minutes to simply sit in the silence of the classroom before anyone showed up. He sighed and pulled out his homework from the night before, reading over it to make sure everything was right.  
Not even five minutes later, he looked up as the door opened. His eyes met startled bluebell. He tilted his head in confusion. No one ever showed up this early, especially not Marinette. She was almost always either late or with Alya. But here she was, early and alone.  
She looked down, clearing her throat and shutting the classroom door behind her. She didn’t say anything as she walked to her seat and sat down. He turned around in his seat and watched her curiously as she pulled out her phone, keeping her head down at every moment.  
When she still didn’t say anything, he said, “Hey Marinette. You’re here early today.”  
She looked up at him with wide eyes, seemingly startled by the sound of his voice. She swallowed visibly and looked down again, fidgeting with her earring. “Oh. Umm… yeah. I… I woke up early, so I really didn’t have anything to do,” she said, her voice shaking almost imperceptibly.   
He tilted his head slightly at her. She looked back down, her hand clutching her phone tightly. When she didn’t say anything else, he turned around and went back to his homework. She obviously didn’t want to talk, and he couldn’t make her. He needed to finish looking over his homework anyways.   
They continued to work in silence until more people started to show up. Nobody said more than a simple “Hello” or “Good morning” before going to their seats. Until Alya and Nino showed up.  
They walked in together, Alya laughing at something Nino had said. Adrien looked up and waved at them, and they both waved back. Nino whispered something to Alya before sliding into the bench next to him. She giggled and sat next to Marinette.  
Adrien listened with curiosity as Alya started to talk to Marinette. Maybe she would say what was wrong, since there was obviously something off. Sure, she had never been able to talk to him in the first place, though he had no idea why. But there had been something slightly more off than usually today. And he was curious as to why.  
“Where were you girl? I waited for you for almost twenty minutes before I had to call Nino to come pick me up so I wouldn’t be late!” Alya asked.   
“I woke up early, so I decided to come to school early,” Marinette replied simply, as if it weren’t that big of a deal.  
Alya scoffed. “Really? You mean to tell me that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, queen of being late, woke up and came to school early?” she asked, disbelief coloring her words. “What really happened?”  
Marinette sighed. “I just woke up early. That’s all. There’s really nothing else to it,” she said.  
“Come on, Marinette. You know that I don’t believe that.”  
“Fine. You want to know what really happened? I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up because I couldn’t sleep, and I figured there was nothing better to do than to head to school early,” Marinette said.   
Adrien had to resist turning around to look at Marinette. From what she had just said, the exact same thing that had happened to him happened to her too. Other than the fact that he had slept. Remembering Ladybug leaning against him as he slept, his mind traveled back to her breakdown not long after that. He shook off his worry as it returned, focusing back on what Marinette and Alya were saying.  
“Marinette… what happened?” Alya asked, her voice slightly more gentle than it had been before. When Marinette didn’t reply, Alya sighed. “Come on, Mari. Tell me what’s wrong.”  
“I’m fine, Alya,” Marinette said, although it didn’t sound very convincing. Alya didn’t reply, going silent like everyone else as Mrs. Bustier walked in.   
As the events of the day went by, Adrien wasn’t really paying attention to anything. The message he had left for Ladybug played itself over and over in his mind. Hopefully she wouldn’t ignore it. Hopefully she listened. He needed to be able to make sure she was okay.

 

Marinette didn’t feel anything like herself.  
The knowledge she had about Adrien and Chat Noir, along with being forced to keep it to herself, was slowly eating away at who she was. She could tell she was changing. She wasn’t as happy as she used to be, and she didn’t feel as motivated as she usually did. But on top of it all, she just couldn’t bring herself to care. It was as if she could no longer feel emotions. She had cried herself dry, and laughing always seemed like a challenge. Everything felt like it was covered in a layer of black and white, as if the color had faded from her everyday life.  
Everything seemed to fall into the same uneventful pattern as the days passed. She got up. She walked to school early without Alya. She spent the entire day only paying half attention to what she was being taught, not saying much to anyone. She went home and laid on her bed, ignoring the messages she kept getting from Alya asking if she was okay. She tried to sleep and usually failed. Everything repeated the next morning.  
When the weekend came, she simply laid on her bed and did nothing. She didn’t think. She didn’t talk. She barely ate. She just laid there and felt like a shell of the girl she used to be. And when Monday rolled around, her friends had had enough.  
She was walking into the school when she was stopped by a ad-looking Alya. Nino and Adrien were standing with her, both of them looking confused and concerned. Marinette avoided Adrien’s gaze and focused on Alya.   
“Okay. I’m not letting this go on any longer. You’re telling me what’s wrong right now, and I’m not letting you move from this spot until you do,” Alya said, narrowing her eyes at Marinette.  
She just stared at her emotionlessly. “I’ve told you this multiple times, Alya. I’m fine,” she replied simply.  
Alya scoffed. “You’re obviously not though. You’re not you anymore! You don’t smile, you don’t laugh, you don’t talk to me about random overdramatic stuff. Heck, you don’t talk to me at all!”  
Marinette sighed and shifted her bag. “I said I’m fine,” she said, this time a little more forcefully.   
Alya bit her lip to keep from screaming. She was upset and wanted her best friend back, and it was making her mad. Adrien seemed to sense her tension and stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. He looked at Marinette and said, “Mari, what she’s trying to say is that we’re worried about you. Something is making you… not you, and we want to help, but we can’t unless we know what it is that’s doing this to you.”  
Marinette stared at him for a minute, the image of his concerned face perfectly matching that of a certain cat she longed to see. She looked down, suddenly blinking back tears. She thought she had cried as much as she could. But watching him show the same concern he showed Ladybug when she was upset made her hurt all over again, and she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat.   
She looked up again, wiping at her eyes. “Look, guys, I’m sorry. I know that your worried, and that I’m not myself, but I just-”  
She broke off as a few tears fell down her face, her voice breaking. She closed her eyes and looked down again, clenching her fists at her sides.  
She gasped in surprise as she felt arms wrap around her. She made a choked sobbing sound and clung to Alya as she hugged her, grateful for the presence of her best friend.   
“It’s okay, Marinette. You can tell us. We’re here for you. We always will be,” Alya whispered. “You can tell us what’s wrong.”  
Marinette pulled away, sniffling as she shook her head. She attempted to wipe the tears off of her face as she said, “No. I… I can’t.” She kept talking as Alya started to protest. “It’s not that I don’t trust you guys. I do. I always will. I just… by telling you, I’ll be telling a secret that isn’t mine to tell. And I couldn’t do that to…” She broke off, glancing at Adrien for a split second before focusing on Alya again. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”  
Alya hugged her again. “Don’t be sorry. We get it. It’s okay.”  
Marinette buried her face in Alya’s shoulder as Nino and Adrien joined into the hug, surrounding her completely with the comfort of her friends. And for the first time in a while, she felt like something was actually going right. Even if she couldn’t tell them what was wrong, they would still be there for her. And that was really all she needed.

 

Adrien sat in the classroom, curiosity and worry pulling at him.   
Earlier that morning, him, Alya, and Nino had confronted Marinette about why she was acting so weird. At first she brushed it off. But then she had started crying, telling them that she couldn’t say what was wrong because of someone else. Which made sense, except for the part where she had looked at him as she said it.  
He shook his head. He had probably just imagined it. What could she possibly know that would make her that upset?  
As the day passed by, his mind gradually traveled back to Ladybug. He didn’t know why, but that day felt different. Sure, he had waited for her with no results every day since he left that message. But maybe, just maybe, this was the day when she’d actually come talk to him. He didn’t even know if she had heard the message yet. But hopefully she had. He still needed to talk to her.  
When the final bell finally rang, he didn’t talk to Alya or Nino like he usually did. He simply walked to the front of the school and looked in the window of his car at his bodyguard. He handed him a folded piece of paper that he had written in one of his classes. “Give this to Nathalie to give to my father please. I’m going over to a friend’s house to work on a project, and I’ll be back soon.” When the bodyguard nodded, Adrien dropped his bag in the backseat and walked around the back of the school. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. 3:07. That meant he had a little over twenty minutes to get to the Eiffel Tower.   
Making sure no one was around, he pulled his overshirt away from his chest and allowed Plagg to fly out. “Really? Again?” the kwami asked, looking slightly unsure. “There is a possibility that all she’ll do about this is get mad.”  
Adrien shrugged. “She can be mad if she wants. I don’t care. I need to make sure she’s okay.”  
“So you won’t care if she never wants to speak to you again? You won’t care if she refuses to come to the next fight because she can’t handle seeing your adorable kitty face without punching it?” Plagg challenged. “And either way, it’s not like she’s shown up the last five days either. Who says today is different?”  
Adrien shrugged again. “First off, she wouldn’t refuse to come, no matter how mad at me she was. She’s too amazing for that. And second, I told her I’d wait. And I’m holding myself to that. So until she shows up, you’re going to suffer through sitting on that tower with me for four hours whether you like it or not.”  
Plagg rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. Adrien ignored him, holding out his right hand. “Plagg, claws out!”  
As the transformation settled over him, he silently hoped that she would actually show up. Even if he couldn’t get her to tell him what was wrong, hopefully he could at least let her know that he was there for her, and he always would be. It seemed like something she needed to know. And he needed to make sure she did know. That’s all that really mattered about this.

 

The first thing Marinette did when she got home that day was flop, face-first, onto her bed.   
“Come on, Marinette. It’s not that bad,” Tikki said, hovering somewhere above her bed.  
Marinette sat up and looked at her. “Tikki, please just…” she broke off, standing up and grabbing her back off of the floor. She walked across the room and sat in the chair at her desk, pulling out her homework. “I’m just going to work on my homework,” she mumbled, shutting out Tikki as she started to protest.  
She had felt hollow for the past few days, as if she could no longer show emotions. But having all of her friends come up and comfort her like that had sparked something, and now she hurt all over again. About not being able to tell Alya what was wrong. About what she knew about Adrien being Chat Noir. About not being able to tell him. About basically everything.  
All of these thoughts were distracting her. After spending twenty minutes trying to focus on the same problem, she gave up. She needed to clear her head. Tikki watched as she wrote a note telling her parents that she went to Alya’s house to help her with something and stuck it to her door. As she was cleaning up her homework, Tikki asked her, “Where are you going?”  
Marinette finished cleaning up and put her bag on her desk chair. “We’re going for a patrol. I can’t just sit here anymore. I need to clear my head.”  
Tikki blinked at her. “But what if you see Chat Noir?” she asked. “Won’t that just make it worse?”  
Marinette looked pointedly at Tikki. “He’s Chat Noir. He hates patrolling. Especially during the day. He probably won’t even have a reason to transform today, unless he was planning on patrolling tonight. Which I doubt.”  
Tikki sighed. “Or he could be waiting for you to see if you’re okay. I mean… he is Chat Noir. And he loves you. We know this. He might still be worried from the last time you saw him.”  
Marinette pushed down the flutter of happiness she felt at the thought of him being worried about her and the stab of pain at the knowledge that . She shook her head at Tikki. “I won’t see him.”  
Tikki sighed. “Whatever you say, Marinette.”  
Marinette ignored her.”Tikki, spots on!”  
Ladybug was out of the trapdoor that led to her balcony before the transformation was fully settled. She breathed in the afternoon air and pulled out here yo-yo, ready to soar above the Paris streets.   
A series of beeps caught her attention. She looked down at the front of her yo-yo curiously. Her heart froze as she saw what it was. She had a message. From Chat Noir. From 8:40 in the morning. Four days ago.  
With shaking hands, she pressed the phone button on her yo-yo and held it up in front of her. Whatever this message was about, it had to be important if he messaged her that early in the morning.  
She held her breath as Chat’s face appeared on the phone. She swallowed down her sudden urge to cry and listened to what he was saying.   
“Ladybug.” His voice was clear over the speaker, as if he was standing right next to her. “I know that you probably won’t get this until later, since it’s kind of early in the morning. At about 3:30, I’m heading over to the Eiffel Tower. I’ll be at the top, the same place we were yesterday. Please come. I promise it’s not some sort of crazy surprise date like I did that one time. This is just because I need to talk to you. In person. Alone.” He broke off, looking down and rubbing a hand over his eyes. When he looked back up, the love and concern in his eyes made Ladybug cover her mouth to keep from sobbing. “And even if you don’t show up, I’ll keep going back. Every day at the same time, I’ll be waiting there for you. I’ll have to leave when the sun sets, but I will be there every day until you come. This is important. Please come. You don’t have to. But I really, really think you should. And I hope you will. I’ll be waiting.”  
With that the screen went dark, leaving Ladybug staring at it in awe. She could feel the wet streaks on her face where a few tears had spilled over. He had called her. He wanted to talk to her. The events from the last conversation they had had played in her mind, and she couldn’t help but smiling to herself.   
“Well Tikki… I guess you were right,” she murmured. She closed the phone on her yo-yo and checked the time. 3:47. He would be waiting. “Let’s go talk to a kitty.” She threw the yo-yo, and it wrapped around a chimney a few houses down. Pulling on the string, she started her journey to the Eiffel Tower. She just hoped that whatever this was wouldn’t cause her to do something stupid. Because knowing her, she would.

 

Chat was pacing back and forth across the tower as a soft thump sounded behind him. He spun around, his eyes widening as he watched Ladybug clip her yo-yo back to her belt. He could see the red rims around her eyes, as if she had been crying recently, and he could see the pain behind her smile.  
“Hey, Chat. Sorry I couldn’t come any sooner. I just got your message. What did you need to talk to me abo-”  
She broke off as Chat stepped forward and hugged her, pulling her against him tightly. After a moment of hesitation she responded, letting out a shaky breath and hugging him back. When he pulled back, she looked up at him with wide eyes.  
Before she could say anything, he started talking. “Ladybug, I know that when I ask you what’s wrong, you’re going to tell me that you’re fine. But I know you too well to believe that. You’re not fine. You’re not okay. And it’s not nothing. And I know that me prying will probably just make you mad, but I don’t care. You can be mad at me if you want. I just…” he broke off, his expression shifting to one of concern. He reached out and pushed her bangs out of her face gently. “I’m worried about you. You usually don’t show much emotion. Sure, occasionally you’ll be mad or really happy, but I’ve never seen you sad. Never. And last week, when you were crying… I want to help. But I don’t know how,” he finished.  
Ladybug swallowed visibly. He could see the tears in her eyes. He watched silently as she breathed in deeply. “Chat, I…” she shook her head and looked down. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you,” she whispered.  
Chat sighed. Stepping towards her, he reached out and put two fingers under her chin so she was looking at him. “Yes, you can. You can trust me.”  
She sighed and pulled away from his touch, stepping back and wrapping her arms around herself. “I do trust you, Chat. More than anybody. But it’s not that simple,” she said.  
He studied her for a minute before raking a hand through his hair. “Why do people keep saying that they can’t tell me what’s wrong? Did something happen that I should know about?” he asked, looking at her incredulously.  
“Chat, it’s really not that simple. I want to tell you. I want to tell you more than anything.”  
“Then tell me,” he said gently, meeting her eyes. “Just say it. I won’t judge. I won’t think less of you. I could never think less of you. Please, Ladybug. I want to help you.”  
She groaned in frustration. “I can’t! Telling you would put you in danger, and I’m not willing to do that. I’m sorry,” she said. Chat saw a few tears slip down her face as she spoke. “I’m not not telling you because I think you’ll judge me. I’m not telling you because I’m not risking you.”  
He tilted his head at her. “What do you mean it would put me in danger? The only things that could be dangerous are if you know something about Hawk Moth and you think I’ll go rushing off or-” he broke off as suddenly and looked down at his ring as everything clicked. The fact that she couldn’t tell him because it was dangerous. The way she had looked at him when she saw him. The recognition in her eyes that he thought he imagined. “Oh my God,” he whispered. He met her eyes again. “You know.”  
The flash of surprise in her eyes confirmed his suspicions. He didn’t want to believe it, but the guilty surety in her eyes told him what he already knew. She knew. Somehow she had figured out who he was. She knew his real identity. But…   
“How?” he asked.  
She swallowed. “I, umm… I mean, if you pay attention it’s pretty obvious,” she said quietly, rubbing her arms shyly.  
Chat stepped back,looking down as thoughts ran around in his head like chickens with their heads cut off. What she was saying made sense, since it was pretty obvious. To him, at least. But if no one had caught on since he became Chat Noir, and if it was really that obvious, how did no one figure it out until now? How did everyone, including Ladybug, manage to pass it by until recently? Did he really manage to do something so stupid recently? He thought about it, but nothing that could possibly cause her to find out who he was came to mind. So how?  
Something else caught his attention suddenly, and he looked back up at Ladybug. “If that’s all there was to it, then why were you so upset?” he asked. Ladybug’s cheeks turned bright red before she looked down, folding her hands in front of her and staying silent. That confirmed what he needed to know. “That’s not what made you so upset,” he said.  
Ladybug looked back up. There were tears in her eyes. “It… it kind of is. I… I realized something else that night, but… I don’t think I would have figured it out if I didn’t know who you are,” she said quietly.  
Chat’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Which means this has something to do with Adrien,” he said.  
She swallowed visibly. “Well, I mean…” She broke off. Chat studied her as she got the look on her face that meant she was puzzling something out. When her eyes focused back on him, though, she still seemed lost. “I… I don’t know how you would react, though…”  
Chat tilted his head at her. “You didn’t know how I would take it when you told me that you know,” he said. “But you still told me.”  
“Technically you figured it out,” she pointed out, her voice quiet.  
He sighed. “Ladybug, that’s not my point.” She swallowed and looked down, but he continued talking.”Look, you know that I just want to help. And obviously if whatever’s making you upset has to do with me, I should be able to help better than anyone else.”  
“It’s not that simple,” she said, keeping her head down. Her voice was shaking.  
“Why not?”   
“It’s just not.”  
“But why? I don’t understand,” he pleaded. “Ladybug, what could I possibly have done to hurt you like this?” he asked. He felt horrible. Whatever this was about, somehow his other half had managed to hurt her to the point of her crying. He obviously didn’t mean to. He would never hurt her on purpose. He probably did something stupid as Adrien without even thinking about it, and managed to hurt her in the process. She probably hated him. And now that she knew who he was, she probably figured out that she hated her best friend.  
She looked up at him, shock and something else written on her face. “What makes you think you hurt me?” she asked.  
He ran a hand through his hair. He was mad at himself now. He would never forgive himself for hurting her. “What else could make you upset like this?” he asked. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “What else could make you avoid me for days? How else could I have possibly-”  
“Because I love you, okay?!” she yelled, looking up at him with a tear-streaked face as her voice broke.  
Chat froze, his eyes widening and the blood draining from his face once again. “Y… you what?” he whispered.  
Ladybug breathed in shakily and wiped the tears from her face. “When I first met you… Adrien, to be specific, he… you didn’t seem like that great of a person,” she began. Chat wanted to move forward, wipe the tears from her face as they ran down her cheeks. But he was frozen in place. “I mean… you were Chloe’s friend, and I thought you were just… another her.” She sniffled and wiped some of the tears from her face with her palm. “But when I got to know you better…” She finally met his eyes. “I realized how amazing you really were, and… somehow I ended up falling in love with you.”  
Chat couldn’t breathe. All he could do was stare at her as she kept talking. “And… I was always so devoted to loving you that… I always pushed you away as Chat. I never let myself go that far. But… when I realized that you two were the… the same person, I realized that I loved all the same things about you. The difference was that Adrien was just an acquaintance. But you… you were my best friend. My partner. I trust you with my life. And… the more I let myself think about it… I had loved you all along. I was just so blinded by the way Adrien shined that I never took notice of the part of him that meant the most to me.”  
Chat stared at her, completely frozen. He didn’t dare move. He was terrified. Terrified that it wasn’t real. That it was some sort of twisted, beautiful dream made to break him in the best and worst ways possible. That if he moved even an inch, the illusion would shatter and he would be left hopelessly wanting what he could never have. He didn’t even breathe, because even if this was a dream, he wanted it to last as long as he could make it.   
“Chat?” she asked. That was when he seemed to notice that there were still tears falling from her eyes. Without responding, he stepped forward and embraced her, pulling her against him tightly. After a moment she responded, letting out a quiet sob and clinging to him. Neither of them said anything as they held to each other, Chat working to hold back his own tears as she cried.  
After a minute she pulled back just enough to look at him. Her eyes were filled with wonder. “You’re shaking,” she murmured.  
He nodded. “When it comes to you, I’m never not shaking,” he said, pulling her to him again and burying his face against her neck.   
When Chat finally pulled away, he cupped her face with a hand and looked into her eyes, memorizing every detail of their gorgeous bluebell like he had so many times before. “I love you, Ladybug,” he said. Her breath caught. She already knew this, but hearing him say it directly made her heart stop. “I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”  
She didn’t bother to wipe away the tear that fell down her face. Chat used his thumb to brush it away, then leaned down and kissed her cheek gently before pulling away from her completely. “I have to go now, Milady,” he said. “You know how my father is. He’ll never accept me being gone this long.”  
She nodded. “Will you come and see me tomorrow?” she asked.  
He smiled his usual playful, flirtatious smile and winked at her. “I’ll see if it fits into my schedule.” Breaking into a smile and pulling out his baton, he added, “I’ll head right over after I’m out of school tomorrow. If I can get around my dad, that is.”  
Ladybug smiled back and nodded. “I’ll be waiting,” she said.

 

Ladybug watched Chat as he vaulted across Paris, headed in the direction of his house. When he was out of sight, she pulled out her yo-yo and jumped off of the tower. She didn’t need to spend any more time up there.  
When she reached her house, she fell onto her bed and dropped her transformation. “Oh, Tikki,” she said. “What have I gotten myself into?” An image of Chat’s playful smile worked its way into her head, and she smiled.   
Tikki floated down to sit on her forehead. “Oh, Marinette. You do realize that he might figure out who you are from all of this, right?” she asked.  
Marinette waved her off. “It’ll be fine, Tikki.” She was going to say more, but just then her mother called her from downstairs. “Coming, Mom!” she called, jumping up out of bed and walking to the door. She hummed to herself as she walked down the stairs, stuck in a state of constant bliss.  
“Well someone looks happier than usual,” her mom said as she got downstairs. Marinette smiled and hugged her, picking up a macaroon from where they sat on a plate on the counter.   
“Eh. I’m just in a good mood,” she said, taking a bite.  
Her mom narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “May I ask why?” she asked.   
Marinette smiled behind her cookie as an image of Chat popped into her mind. “No reason.”  
“Mm-hmm…” her mom responded, smiling. “Well, I was going to ask you if you got your homework done. I saw your note, and I was waiting for you to get back so I could ask you that. I didn’t hear you come in though.”  
Marinette shrugged and finished the macaroon. “I was going to go finish it right now,” she said. “I couldn’t focus.”  
Her mom nodded. “Okay. Go ahead and do that. Your father is delivering something to someone and he won’t be back until later. I’ll call you back down when he gets here.”  
Marinette nodded and headed up the stairs to her room. “Okay. Thanks Mom,” she called down before shutting the door. She flopped down at her desk and sighed, pulling out her homework.   
She managed to get through most of it before Tikki cut in. She had zoned off again, staring at the wall with her head in her hands and thinking about Adrien. Or Chat Noir. Or both.  
“Okay. That’s it. I’m officially banning you from homework until you can get that stupid cat off your mind and focus!” Tikki said, grabbing Marinette’s pen and shoving all of her stuff into her bag. Marinette watched her with a wide-eyed, dazed look. Tikki looked absolutely furious.  
“T-Tikki?” Marinette asked. “Did… I do something wrong?”   
“Yes!” Tikki yelled, her voice breaking. It was only then that Marinette saw the tears in her blue eyes. The small kwami dropped the rest of Marinette’s stuff back onto the desk before looking at Marinette. “You don’t get it, Marinette!”  
Marinette blinked at her. “I don’t get what?” she asked.  
“Anything!” Marinette watched in horror as a few tears fell down Tikki’s face. “Marinette, this whole thing with Chat has to stop!”  
This made Marinette the slightest bit mad. “Why?” she asked. “Why can’t you just accept that I’m finally-”  
“The penalty for having your secret identity revealed is having your Miraculous returned to the Guardian!” Tikki interrupted, looking at Marinette with saddened blue eyes.  
Marinette froze, her anger and protests dying on her lips. “Wh-what?” she asked, looking at the kwami.  
Tikki sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “If somebody finds out who Ladybug is, it will be declared too dangerous. Master Fu will have to take back your Miraculous. For your sake and for the sake of the powers of Ladybug.”  
Marinette looked at the kwami in mild shock. Having her Miraculous taken away? That would mean that she couldn’t be Ladybug anymore. She wouldn’t be able to sop Hawk Moth, or protect the people she loved. She’d never see Tikki again. And… she wouldn’t be able to see Chat anymore. She would lose her best friend, her only love, her partner, and her ability to help anyone. Her entire life would be ruined.  
A sudden wave of determination swept over her. She couldn’t give up being Ladybug. Even if it meant having her and Chat going back to just friends. She needed her Miraculous. Looking at Tikki, she stood up and said, “I need to go talk to Chat.”  
Tikki’s eyes widened. “But Marinette, he’s probably already home. You can’t contact him now. He won’t get it,” she said.  
Marinette shook her head. “I don’t care. I need to talk to him now. If I wait until tomorrow, I won’t be able to do it. I need to transform.” Before Tikki could protest again, she said, “Tikki, spots on!”  
As soon as she was fully covered by her suit, she climbed out onto the balcony and pulled out her yo-yo. A message alert caught her attention before she could jump off the roof, and she quickly opened it to see who it was.  
Her breath left her body as a face unfamiliar to her came up on the screen. “Hello, Ladybug,” the voice said. It sounded oddly familiar, and she felt as if she should recognize it. “You probably don’t know who I am, since you haven’t ever seen me. That’s not a problem.I just have a message for you.” He held up a picture of Chat Noir. “I saw a portion of what happened on the tower earlier. I know that you’re planning to meet this cat on the tower tomorrow. I wouldn’t suggest that.” The camera shifted to an image of the tower. “Do you see that? Well, on the top of that tower, there is a device planted that will tell me when Chat Noir gets there. I’m not going to tell you exactly what I have planned. All you need to know is that your kitty will reach an unfortunate point when he shows up tomorrow.” The camera shifted back to the man’s face. “Oh. And, one other thing.” He smiled. “If you try to interfere with this plan, just know that I have my ways of making this work. I mean… I’ve gotten close to getting your Miraculous before. And now I’ll finally succeed, thanks to you.” He chuckled darkly and shook his head. “Poor girl. I guess this is what happens when you fall prey to the power of love. Luckily for you there will be no Akumas interfering this time.” His smile was pure evil as it returned to his face. “That is, unless I manage to get one of your Miraculouses.”  
With that, the screen went black. Ladybug stared at it, white-faced and shaking with shock and fear. From everything he had said, it was obvious who he was. Somehow Hawk Moth had managed to contact her, and somehow he knew what had happened. He knew that Chat was going to see her, and there was a possibility that he also knew who Chat was.  
Through her haze, she managed to put a few details together to come to a terrifying conclusion. She stood up, pushing her fear aside and replacing it with the determination she needed to feel right then. Throwing her yo-yo to a nearby roof and watching it wrap around the chimney, she swung away from the bakery and in the direction of Adrien’s house. Everything from her conversation with Tikki had fallen away, and only one thing remained:  
She needed to warn Chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three will be out as soon as I can write it. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter two should be out soon! I hope you like it so far!


End file.
